To the north of Iraq live the people known as Yazidis, roughly half a million in number, who have been mercilessly hunted down by the rabid hordes of the Islamic State (ISIS) on grounds that they are Devil-worshippers. In reality, Yazidis have a unique belief system that is a mix of Abrahamism and Zoroastrianism and, probably even, Hinduism. This may be why followers of Hindutva have shown, at least on the Internet, an unusual and exaggerated empathy for their plight. They argue that the mass killings and rape of Yazidis by ISIS is what is in store for the Hindus of India unless they abandon the naïve 'ahimsa' route and take up arms against the rising Islamist menace.

Illustration/ Devdutt Pattanaik